The road to zero emissions is not straight. It is wide, winding and branched.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the California Air Resources Board (CARB) continue to propose and finalize dozens of new orders, leaving fleets to meet emissions requirements that can vary from state to state. increase.
Future emissions regulations have reached an inflection point, said Glenn Kezie, vice president of energy and environmental counsel for the American Trucking Association, “creating a new roadmap unlike anything the industry has ever seen before. more emissions regulations have been passed between 2015 and 2025 than in the last 30 years.
A panel convened at the American Trucking Association Management Conference and Exhibition on Sunday morning examined how the future regulatory environment will affect equipment purchasing decisions and technology pathways.
“It’s a California regulation, but other states are considering adopting it,” Spears said of CARB’s omnibus.
As currently written, after 2024, CARB omnibus regulations require heavy duty diesel and gasoline engines sold in California to emit no more than 0.05 grams of NOx per brake horsepower-hour (g/BHP-hr.) and this is a drop of 75%. The current limit, he starts at 0.20 grams – given the development and certification timelines, Spears said, this time frame was “extremely difficult.”
The Clean Track Plan is scheduled for 2027 and beyond. The EPA is expected to finalize by the end of the year, but the emission levels have not yet been finalized. “But in NOx he sees more than 70% reductions,” Spears said, adding that the Clean Trucks Plan could be similar to CARB’s Omnibus plan in what he’s trying to achieve. added that it is high. “We also hear that the EPA is considering making a significant portion of the vehicle zero-emissions.”
“We’re definitely going to see new engine hardware and aftertreatment hardware,” Spears said of how manufacturers have to meet new standards. but it’s not that big.”
Fleet isn’t the only thing in the emission crosshairs. Vehicle OEMs are also required to meet certain criteria for Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) sales. The two emissions plans will create two different emissions standards for the 2024, 2025 and 2026 model years, potentially prompting truck and engine manufacturers to offer different standards for different states, Spears said. said.
CARB’s Advance Clean Fleet regulation requires new trucks acquired by state and local fleets to be 50% zero-emission by 2024 and 100% by 2027. All drayage trucks entering state-regulated ports or intermodal railyards must be zero-emission by 2035. New trucks purchased after 2024 must be zero-emission.
Johan Agebrand, director of product marketing for Volvo Trucks North America, said the engineering advances come through engines and transmissions, axles, tires and pre-approved technology. But he said aerodynamics will get a lot of attention.
unavoidably expensive regulations
These regulations affect all fleets operating in the Golden State, regardless of their home state or state in which the trucks are registered. Ron Hall, CR England (CCJMore (Top 250, No. 41), the senior vice president of equipment and fuels, noted that California’s definition of a fleet is “any truck that enters the state,” noting that California’s operations are evading regulation. It closes loopholes for carriers that may have tried to spin off. Leaving the state entirely is also probably not the solution, Hall said, as other states will surely follow California’s lead.
“Don’t think you can get your California action back,” Hall said. “Eventually, other states will also get involved in this.”
Hall said from what CR England has seen so far, CARB compliance strategies tend to avoid road inspections in favor of compliance audits, while smaller fleets operate under audits. , added that it tends to put large carriers at a disadvantage because they are easier to audit and catch. radar.
Ultimately, Hall said, there will likely be a geofencing feature that could determine emissions regulations for trucks before they enter the state.
Brokers must also comply with reporting requirements and ensure that their dispatched fleets are listed as compliant on the CARB website.
Spears said the necessary warranties and engine life extensions, as well as certifications built into future emissions regulations, will undoubtedly lead to higher initial costs, and with all the regulations looming, fleets will be in a scramble. increase. truck.
“There’s going to be a lot of demand in terms of tractor availability,” Hall said, adding that the fleet needs to communicate early with dealers and OEMs.
Dan Porterfield Covenant Logistics (No. 29) Senior Vice President, Maintenance and Equipment Management said: “This will come to us soon.”
Mr Porterfield said that in CR England’s experience, ZEV tractors are 2.5 to 3 times more expensive than diesel tractors, raising questions about residual values. “I don’t know what value these are on the back end,” he said.
Porterfield noted the high cost of infrastructure, but “the timeline could be longer than expected,” he said. “It may surprise us that in a large facility with a lot of power, we don’t have panels big enough to plug in and build a charging infrastructure. I let you.”
Once the fleet can actually run the tractor on the road, Porterfield said drivers will love driving the trucks thanks to the increased torque and ride quality.
“From a driver’s point of view, these things are great,” he said.
CR England has responded to a question from a client who sees carriers as an extension of their sustainability goals, and Hall said it has found a client willing to invest money in the initiative.
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